30 Days to a More Powerful Memory

Chapter 19. Take a Letter

Just as there are a number of memory strategies that use numbers (see Chapter 28), so there are different strategies based on letters. You have to first select the letters and associated images, and learn them well. After that, you can use them to help you remember combinations of letters, such as a password—or combine them with one of the number systems when you have a string of letters and numbers. This is a system I don’t use, since I prefer chunking, rehearsal, and keeping everything in a file of passwords, but many memory experts swear by these kinds of systems—so here goes.

The Alphabet System

To start, pick a word with a visual image associated with it (such as “apple”) that starts with each letter or with the sound ...